Haiti

The Kenyan-led international security force deployed to Haiti has made "significant progress" in tackling gang violence, Kenyan police said, two months after they first arrived.

The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Haiti's former president, Michel Joseph Martelly, over drug trafficking allegations, accusing him of playing a significant role in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in the country.

Haiti's prime minister escaped unharmed Monday after gangs opened fire near a hospital he was visiting, a government source told AFP, as the troubled nation seeks to restore stability after months of gang-related violence.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations announced $60 million in additional humanitarian assistance to Haiti during a trip Monday to the troubled Caribbean country. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield also said the U.S. Defense Department would provide a “substantial increase” in mine-resistant vehicles to a U.N.-backed, multinational security mission led by Kenya to help Haiti’s national police combat widespread gang violence.

The multifaceted humanitarian catastrophe in Haiti requires urgent international attention, three senior aid officials from the United Nations and the European Union have said, wrapping up a four-day visit to the Caribbean country where they saw firsthand how ongoing gang violence has upended people’s lives. 

A second contingent of 200 police officers from Kenya arrived Tuesday in Haiti to bolster a U.N.-backed mission led by the East African country to battle violent gangs in the troubled Caribbean country.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) until 15 July 2025, requesting all Haitian stakeholders to urgently establish a Provisional Electoral Council and reach an agreement on a sustainable, time-bound and commonly accepted road map for elections.

[…] UN Special Representative Carlos Ruiz Massieu told ambassadors that “insecurity is clearly the main obstacle to reintegration and the success of the Peace Agreement”. 

He said 421 signatories have been killed since it was signed.

The leader of the multinational force led by Kenya tasked with curbing gang violence in Haiti expressed determination Monday to ensure democratic elections and prevent further instability in the country.

Maria Isabel Salvador, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti, briefed ambassadors at the Security Council, highlighting the installation of the Transitional Presidential Council in April and the swearing-in of an interim Prime Minister and new government in June as “clear indications of progress.”